According to official data, telecom operators owe more than Rs 1.65 lakh crore to the government.
New Delhi:
Indebted telecom operator Vodafone Idea has decided to defer payment of additional adjusted gross revenue of Rs 8,837 crore in dues from a four-year period.
The company, in a late June 22 filing, said the DoT on June 15 increased the request for adjusted gross income (AGR) for two additional fiscal years beyond 2016-17, which were not covered. by order of the Supreme Court on the law. rights.
Vodafone Idea (VIL) in the filing said its board “has approved the exercise of the option to defer AGR-related contributions for a period of four years with immediate effect, in accordance with said letter. The amount of dues related to the AGR, as stated in the said DoT letter, is Rs 8,837 crore, which is subject to revision due to the assignment of various representations.”
The government calculates its share of telecom operators’ revenue based on their AGR, which is considered to have been earned by them through the sale of services.
The VIL filing said the DoT offered the company a four-year moratorium on all AGR-related assessments through fiscal year 2018-19, which were not included in the court order. Supreme Court of September 1, 2022 which can be exercised within 15 days before June 30.
“Said DoT letter also provides the Company with an option for the conversion into equity of interest due in advance for those AGR-related contributions for which a period of 90 days has been provided from the date of said DoT letter. “VIL said.
The company said the new claim of Rs 8,837 crore is subject to review due to the assignment of various representations, CAG, special audit and any other litigation results and “the final amount to be paid in six equal annual installments after the moratorium period from March 31, 2026”.
The government has already approved Vodafone Idea’s proposal to convert around Rs 16,000 crore of the interest payment from the previous moratorium on AGR into a stake of around 33% in the company.
According to official data, telecom operators owe over Rs 1.65 lakh crore to the government in adjusted gross revenue till the financial year 2018-19.
The new calculation shows that AGR liability on Bharti Airtel was Rs 31,280 crore, Vodafone Idea Rs 59,236.63 crore, Reliance Jio Rs 631 crore, BSNL Rs 16,224 crore, MTNL Rs 5,009.1 crore till the end. 2018-19 financial year.
The company, in a separate filing, said its board approved the raising of Rs 436.21 crore from Vodafone group company Euro Pacific Securities through the issue of preference shares at a unit price of Rs 10.2 each or warrants at the same price.
